New York City

New York City – I’ve never been in a more crowded city until here. And it’s so packed with tourists (like me, HA) that it feels like they make up a quarter of the population here. But you really can’t blame them for wanting to visit a place with so much to see and so much to do!

My husband, David, and I decided that we wanted to travel more this year. We made a list of places that we definitely would want to make stops in, but New York was one of the top contenders. We are MAJOR foodies – so for our first wedding anniversary this year, we thought it’d be pretty fun to take a trip to a city that is notorious for its mouth-watering food.

Besides the amazing food, I’ve really been wanting to see some of the other national monuments in the area – Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and the 9/11 Memorial. Scroll on down to check out photos of our stops at each one.

9/11 Memorial

Being here in this space.. there were so many emotions I could feel from those surrounding me and from within myself. People planting flowers next to their loved ones names.. This place holds so much sadness, yet at the same time holds so much hope… hope for the future.

Washington Square Park

Quick Tip for the Statue of Liberty: If you’re on a budget or don’t have enough time to take the ferry tour that lets you go into the statue to look around, there are other options. Once you get to the ferry station, there will be a ton of sellers advertising ferry options to you. There was one offer that we almost took up and it allowed you to get on a ferry that pulled right up next to the coastline. You couldn’t get off the ferry to walk on the small island, but you would get a chance to see it up close. This option was about $30 per person and it definitely wasn’t a bad deal.

We thought about it, but ended up going with our original plan of taking the free Staten Island Ferry. For the people who want good photos taken of themselves with the statue behind you, my only tip would be to go on a day that has less people traffic – like maybe Tuesday or Wednesday? We went on a Saturday, so the side of the ferry that was facing the Statue of Liberty was packed to the max! I tried so hard to take good selfies with it being in the background and I had David try… but it was just too crowded. I was okay with it though. As long as I got to see her – I was happy.

One of my favorite sceneries in NYC was the view when our ferry pulled out of the port. It was an amazing view with the buildings, Brooklyn Bridge to the left and Statue of Liberty on the other side.

Statue of Liberty

Whew! You must be tired by now… because let me tell ya… we definitely were.

All of these photos that you’ve seen so far? We went to all of these areas “by foot” within our first 6 hours of exploring NYC. I think the only place we took to the train to was the Washington Square Park area.

Quick Tip: Wear COMFY shoes! I repeat, WEAR COMFY SHOES!!

You must also be wondering where all of the food photos were at then in between all of these stops we made. Let me tell ya something else – I started my morning with a delicious bagel (which is a MUST when in NYC — the bagels are more soft and dense) with sour cream and smoked salmon + a cup of comme ci comme ca coffee. That was around 9:30 a.m. After this photo.. it was about 3:30 p.m…. with no snack breaks at all. I found myself feeling pretty crabby twice within the six hours, lol.

But are you ready to hear the good news?

It’s about that time for our 4:45 p.m. reservation at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse!!!! *spartans roar*

I seriously cannot put into words how friggin’ delicious this porterhouse steak was!! It was perfectly salted and charred so dang beautifully! When the steak was presented to us, they showed us a piece of meat to ensure our satisfaction with the temperature. (p.s. we like it rare)

And man do they know how to keep your cravings high! Afterwards, he took a piece of the steak and slid on the side of the hot burning plate to slightly sizzle it for me, and just, “my oh my oh my!” You could hear the steak sizzle and sear from the one quick swipe. And then after serving us, he begins to collect the butter and spoons it over our steak pieces. sighs… God bless this man, this steak and Peter Luger!

There was something different about this steak than all other steaks that I’ve tried. The texture of this meat was EXTRA tender. I mean, there are some steaks that you eat and sometimes it could take 7-10 chews before swallowing it. With this steak, you could take 1-2 soft bites and already chew through the meat. It might be because they’re grass-fed cows. I’m not sure, but I’m already looking forward to our next trip back to this place!

I can’t explain how incredibly delicious it was… but I will let this face show you the level of satisfaction.

Quick Tip for Eating at Peter Lugers: MAKE YOUR RESERVATION 1.5 MONTHS AHEAD OF TIME. I made ours a month before and the only time slots they had left were 4:45 pm and 9:45 pm.

NYC Time Square

Prince Street Pizza — BEST PEPPERONI PIZZA EVERRR!!!

a pretty bathroom that I adored

Central Park

Until we got to Central Park and were handed the map, I didn’t realize how big Central Park was! For the sake of our legs, we decided to rent bikes for about two hours so it’d be easier to cover majority of the park. We stopped in so many areas to check out certain landmarks there, so we only covered half of the park within the two hours. If you would like to cover the full park to get it all done at one time, I’d definitely recommend renting bikes for at least 3-4 hours so you can get a chance to see and enjoy everything.

Grand Central Station

Welcome.. welcome to one of the best ramen’s you’ll ever have here.

This broth… was everything. It was so pure, yet so fatty *licks the lips* and the taste was extremely delicious! There are some broths that you get that taste real good but a bit too milky. This broth seemed to be more focused on the flavor within the pork broth – the exact taste I expect out of a Tonkotsu bowl. I was super impressed! Ramen just isn’t the same for me and David anymore.

Chinatown

This place seriously has some of the best soup dumplings I’ve ever had.

Quick Tip: Before going to a bar that you know is going to be extra pricey, find a sweet low-key bar with good drink specials to sip and chill at first. This bar had awesome drink specials! We had Patron shots for $5, Jameson shots with pickle juice $4 and some cocktails and beers ranging from $3-5. It was raining and chilly that day too.. so this nice, little bar got us a little toasty before walking to our next bar.

230 Fifth Rooftop Bar – a must see rooftop bar. You get the best site of the Empire State Building and surrounding skylines. The service was amazing here! They handed out warm robes for everyone to wear since we all freezing from the rain beforehand. It was actually pretty funny when we first entered the rooftop. We saw everyone wearing the red robes and me and David just looked at each other like…. “I think we just walked into the wrong cult rooftop party…”

Now if you really want to have a life changing moment – please, PLEASE, stop by Katz Deli. You will not regret anything from their menu. For this trip, we went specifically for their renown Pastrami Sandwich.

P.S. cash only

They say that it could take years before you get promoted to the meat cutting station at Katz Deli. I mean.. just look at the art of this sandwich! I know I couldn’t cut meat and have it arranged so perfectly.

You may look at this sandwich and think.. it just looks like meat and bread (ha, because for a second that’s what I thought it was going to be). But when our meat cutter gave us a slither to taste while we were waiting… goodness! I have never opened my eyes quicker in my life. I don’t say this too much about too many entrees, but this meat was literally like fireworks in my mouth. Flavors, on flavors, on flavors! ++ their mustard sauce… oh so much goodness..

Please, do yourself a favor and go get you one of these delicious sandwiches!

High Line – a great little trail to take a stroll on

Strawberry Fields

Well folks, that’s a wrap. New York City is an amazing city and we had a great time there! I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I could ever live there. There’s a ton of honking and traffic that I couldn’t mentally handle. But I do know that I’ll be making more trips back to get in on some more food and to get a chance to roam through the neighborhoods a little more.

NYC truly has some of the most tastiest and diverse foods out there. We will be back – no doubt about it. If you have any tips or recommendations for places, restaurants or bars that you enjoy in NYC — drop them in the comments box below. We love to try out new places!!

Thank you so much for taking the time dive in our travels with us! I’ll see you in the next post!